Transforming Flint: Volunteers, Paint What Matters to clean up University Avenue corridor

Volunteers will meet Saturday, May 10, to finish up a cleanup initiative along University Avenue corridor. Two initiaves -- Flint Brush Up and Main Street Matters (Paint What Matters) -- will combine efforts. Sarah Schuch | sschuch@mlive.com

FLINT, MI – A transformation is coming.

After months of planning, hundreds of volunteers are coming
together Saturday, combining efforts to clean up the University Avenue in
Flint. Efforts will include painting residential and commercial properties,
street and curb clean up and garden bed clean up, among other things.

Flint Brush Up, an initiative lead by Beta Theta Pi students
at Kettering University and members with the University Avenue Corridor
Coalition, and the national Paint What Matters initiative will join forces to
complete roughly 22 projects by 2 p.m. Saturday.

"It's going to make a big difference," said Jack Stock, director
of external relations at Kettering University. "It's going to be giant. There's
been big strides already, but this is going to bring it to another level
because people are going to go 'Oh, there's something happening here.'"

Stock said he expecting at least 100 volunteers to show up
Saturday to help with cleanup efforts. Anyone interested can meet at Kettering's
Campus Center between 8:30 and 9 a.m. Saturday, May 10. Volunteers are
encouraged to bring work gloves if they have them.

The community is invited to a celebration from 2 to 5 p.m.
at University Square, the park area on the corner of University Avenue and
Grand Traverse Street. Project officials will be there to kick off the cleanup
celebration, and there will be a DJ and refreshments.

The work being done along the University Avenue corridor is
proof that a team effort is what is needed to help Flint become blight free,
said Flint Mayor Dayne Walling.

The Paint What Matters initiative is valued at more than
$100,000, he said.

"It took a lot of people and businesses and organizations
coming together to get to this point and it will be exciting to see the
volunteers and contractors all working together to eliminate blight and improve
the University Avenue corridor on Saturday," Walling said. "This is a
substantial contribution to the University Avenue corridor, but there will be
work that needs to be done in the future."

The greatest impact will be seen at the Grand Traverse
Street and University Avenue, which is the key corridor for Kettering, Hurley
Medical Center and University of Michigan-Flint, Walling said.

The cleanup effort really shows what a community can do with
limited funds, he said.

"And anyone who drives by on Saturday afternoon will see
what a community transformation can look like," Walling said.

A lot of work has already been done leading up to this
weekend.

On Nov. 16 Kettering students kicked off the Flint Brush Up
project to beautify projects along University Avenue. A list of projects was
made and work on some of those projects was started in March.

There was a Flint River cleanup in April. The Sunset Drive
bridge area was cleaned up of brush and overgrowth, yards were cleaned out at two
residential properties on University Avenue, garden beds were cleaned out in
front of the Flint Children's Museum, the Atwood Stadium property was cleaned
up, the former Shelia's property next to Atwood was painted and cleaned up and
the abandoned gas station at Grand Traverse and University Avenue was cleaned
up.

Volunteers will meet Saturday, May 10, to finish up a cleanup initiative along University Avenue corridor. Two initiaves -- Flint Brush Up and Main Street Matters (Paint What Matters) -- will combine efforts. A celebration will take place from 2 to 5 p.m. at University Square. Sarah Schuch | sschuch@mlive.com

On July 8, the Benjamin Moore Main Street Revitalization
program selected Flint to be one of 20 cities in North America to receive
supplies, consulting and paint for structures on two to three blocks as a part
of the Paint What Matters initiative.

On Saturday, the 11 projects from Paint What Matters and an additional
10 projects from Flint Brush Up will all be completed.